The latest installment in this series takes us away from the glory days of the 1990’s to the Tribe’s ace during the mid-1930’s and architect of the Tribe’s pitching success during the 40’s and 50’s. Mel Harder pitched with the Indians from 1928-1947, breaking into the big leagues when he was just 18 years old. His 20 years in an Indians’ uniform is the most of any player in Tribe history. Mel also has the dubious honor of being the only player to spend 20 seasons with one team and not be elected into the Hall of Fame.
Harder spent the first few years of his career primarily being used as a reliever before he exploded in a breakout campaign in 1932. That season Harder made 32 starts for the Tribe, going 15-13 with a 3.75 ERA. That was the first of eight straight seasons in which Harder won 15 or more games. He followed that up with another stellar campaign in 1933 in which he led the league with a 2.95 ERA. In 1934 & 1935 Harder won 20 and 22 games respectively, these are the only seasons he would eclipse the 20 win plateau.
The committees love award winners, or at the very least finishes near the top of those award polls. Unfortunately for Harder, there was no Cy Young during his playing days. Had there been a Cy Young during Mel Harder’s career, he would have likely finished near the top from 1933-1935, as well as in 1938. Harder finished 16th in the MVP vote in 1934 and 1938, in both of those years only three pitchers finished ahead of Harder in the vote. Harder also finished in 22nd in the MVP voting in 1935.
Mel Harder retired from playing after the 1947 season, but would remain with the team as a pitching coach for the next 16 seasons. Bob Lemon, Early Wynn, Mike Garcia, and Bob Feller, or the “Big Four” as they would come to be known, attribute much of their success in the late 40’s and early 50’s to the coaching and guidance of Mel Harder. Harder also worked with Herb Score, Sam McDowell, Luis Tiant and Tommy John during his tenure as the Tribe’s pitching coach.
Over his 20 year career he racked up 47.9 WAR rating as a pitcher, however, since there was no designated hitter during his time he was forced to hit regularly and was a -4.2 WAR hitter, leaving him with a career WAR of 43.8. Nevertheless, he still has a career WAR that is higher than notable Hall of Famers Catfish Hunter, Lefty Gomez, Jesse Haines, and Rube Marquard. Career WAR may not be the most probative means of measuring Harder’s Hall of Fame credentials, since his longevity is the primary reason he was able to beat out those four. But if you examine his seven-year peak WAR, which measures a player’s WAR rating during his seven best seasons, that figure is 37.5. While that figure may not compare to the 50.2 average of the 59 pitcher’s currently in the Hall, it is still above Hunter, Gomez, Marquand, Waite Hoyt, Don Sutton, and Whitey Ford. Few would question the validity of these six player’s being in the Hall, yet even at their best, Mel Harder was better.
From 1932-1939 Harder was one of the best pitchers in baseball. Had it not been for shoulder and elbow injuries during the prime of his career, Harder likely would have been a surefire Hall of Famer. Despite these injuries, Harder still managed to play 20 seasons at the highest level earning 223 wins in the process. Mel’s contributions as a pitching coach should not be overlooked. Harder was a significant factor in the Indians’ success during the late 40’s and early 50’s and he helped develop many other pitchers into the stars they would become.
Mel Harder’s chance at being elected lies with the veteran’s committee, which in 2015 will be selecting players from the pre-integration era (1871-1946) for induction into Cooperstown. This is perhaps the most fitting route for Harder’s induction, as many of the game’s greatest hitters have long praised Harder’s abilities. Both Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams have said Mel Harder was the toughest pitcher they had ever faced. If an endorsement from two of the game’s all-time greatest hitters isn’t enough to prove how great Mel Harder was, I’m not sure what is.
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